Out Of Body Experience

Chapter 3: The Version I hadn't Seen

If not for my debilitating social anxiety, I would have followed them to see who Leo really is and what kind of relationship he has with Tessa. I can’t believe I’m even entertaining this. What merit do I have to question her intentions or relationships with anyone, when I can’t seem to make myself relevant enough beyond being a glitch in her matrix?

It had been three days since I last ran into Tessa, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. In fact, I had spent most of those days in the hallway more than anywhere else, but what once seemed like a natural occurrence now felt like an eclipse that only happens under rare circumstances. That shift made me want to see her even more.

By day five, without realizing it, I had reached the point of acceptance — the new normal was not bumping into her. That realization was somehow freeing, yet it didn’t make me feel any better.

As usual, immersed in my thoughts while waiting for the light rain to pass, I sat on a bench and noticed a parked car window fogging up. Nothing special about it at first — my mind was drifting, my eyes darting everywhere, begging for any kind of distraction from my inner demons. I welcomed the sudden, damp interest in the matter.

I kept staring at the car as if it held all the answers to my questions, until I noticed a palm pressed against the glass that looked strangely familiar. What are they doing inside? Are they lovers seizing the opportunity, or some adventurous couple chasing an adrenaline rush?

After a couple of minutes, the door swung open and an unfamiliar man stepped out, fixing his disheveled clothing while quickly scanning the area to make sure no prying eyes were watching. This only pulled me in further. While finding yet another way to be critical of myself — painfully awkward in performing the most innate human behaviors while others seemed to go the extra mile without hesitation — something happened that made my heart skip a beat.

From the passenger side came a woman with a hiked‑up dress and a crooked shirt. When she stepped fully into view, she was none other than Tessa — the girl who lately seemed to hold the remote to my emotions.

A million questions flooded my mind as I scrambled to make sure I wasn’t in their line of sight, as if sitting outside was the most illegal thing I could do. Who was that? Was it Leo? While I wrestled with that thought, another, more pressing question demanded my attention: What was she doing? Why did she look a little distraught?

I’ve always sucked at multitasking.While drowning in unanswered questions and trying to get out of sight, she turned around and caught me miserably failing at both, looking like a f*****g dodo bird. She gave me a wave and started walking toward me.

“Hey, how long have you been sitting here?”

Apparently long enough to ruin my week, but I chose to respond, “Oh, hey… not long actually, I just sat down.”

From our body language alone, it was obvious we both knew I was lying. Struggling to find some kind of conversational piece to break the tension, I noticed something unusual — for the first time ever, she was the one struggling, breaking eye contact multiple times. But I was too focused on playing detective. I shifted my focus from her and asked, “Did you just arrive? Or were you sitting in the car for long?”

With a slightly shocked look, she replied, “First time you ask a question and you choose something hard.” She smiled nervously.

Conveniently, she had suddenly became very good at avoiding questions. I responded, “You look… warm. Guess you haven’t been out in the cold much.”

She looked surprised and visibly uncomfortable, trying hard to collect her composure. “I guess. Anyway… why are you sitting out here alone?”

Apparently, I had commited to making this day progressively worse. “I thought I’d collect my thoughts while enjoying the cold air.”

Should I ask her to stay? While I was contemplating this, a bolder voice called out, “Tessa, here you are. Where did you disappear? I was locking my car.”

He didn’t even acknowledge my existence, probably thought I was some kind of statue, just there for visual appeal. She turned around, smiled, and said, “I was here. Oh - Leo, This is Milo.”

He reached out his hand and casually gave me a shake while still talking to her. “So, are you going to stay here? Or should I wait for you?”

“I’ll catch up. Let me say bye first.” She turned back to me and said, “I hope we see each other later,” giving me a tap on the shoulder and a quick squeeze before walking away. A whiff of her warm body lingered, releasing some kind of infatuating, new scent.

Something surprised me about myself after that conversation. As usual, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay, to invent some excuse to run into her again and keep talking.

So I got up and went inside, searching for her. As I walked down the hallway, I saw her from afar, talking with Leo. She stood close to him, her body language inviting, more physical than she had ever been with me. Without realizing it, I was walking toward them — with no plan whatsoever.

When I reached earshot, Leo turned slightly and asked, “Oh hey, you’re Tessa’s friend, right? I thought you were leaving.”

Thinking, apparently my plans had changed, I replied, “I didn’t want to catch a cold, so I thought I’d hang out with you guys for a while.”

Looking extremely surprised by my sudden shift in personality, Tessa smirked a little. “Leo, why don’t I call you later on? You should hang out with your friends.”

I turned my head as if waiting for someone else. Quickly, Leo responded, “Yeah, sure. Nice to meet you again.” Without waiting for my response, he left us there, and we looked at each other like two kids set up for a playdate by their parents.